Whiff Of Change In US Medical Marijuana Policy

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(02-07) 09:07 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

The White House won't say it explicitly. Neither will the Drug Enforcement Administration. Yet there is a whiff in the air that U.S. policy is about to change when it comes to medical marijuana.

The message is clear, said UCLA professor Mark Kleiman, a former Justice Department official and an expert on crime and drug policy.

"It is no longer federal policy to beat up on hippies," said Kleiman.

Tell that to the DEA.

In California this past week, agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles and seized 500 pounds of pot.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/02/07/national/w090713S85.DTL

[lynnertic]

1. I think the DEA raided dispensaries because they were driving down the price.

:shrug:

Just a guess - I don't live in LA so I wouldn't know.

[nashville_brook]

3. well, driving down the value of 'drug enforcement,' at the very least

if it's being dispensed inside the paramenters of the law, then there's less value in the clandestine trade. wouldn't be surprised at all if cartels were cheering on the DEA.

[frebrd]

4. Just think what it would do the the price .......

if they legalized pot altogether. Then they could tax it and everyone would benefit.

:)

[Royal Sloan 09]

2. K n R

Simple Solution, Legalize

[lynnertic]

5. we did.

oh, you mean the feds.

[NinetySix]

7. Exactly...but DO NOT decriminalize it.

Decriminalization would be the worst thing that could possibly happen. The same gangs and criminals would still be the distributors. LEGALIZE, just like alcohol in 1933, tax it the same way, but make the GOVERNMENT the agent of production and distribution. Then it would finally be a controlled substance.

[Peace Patriot]

11. "The same gangs and criminals..."? Not if the profit goes down--decriminalization

will do that.

Interesting how banning things is a hallmark of major theft by the rich. 1920s, ban on alcohol--theft and profiteering by the rich so intense, it brought on the Great Depression. 1960s-2000s, ban on marijuana--culminating in theft and profiteering by the rich that pales next to the 1920s.

[SOS]

6. "It is no longer federal policy to beat up on hippies,"

Better 40 years late, than never.

[SpiralHawk]

8. "Hippies are people, too." - Hippies

"At least we ain't America-hating Republicon Homelander Hypocrites, or nuttin like dat."

- Hippies

[earcandle]

18. cute

[silverweb]

9. It's a start.

:kick:

[Romulox]

10. Are we pretending that the DEA doesn't answer to President Obama?

Sounds like the "crazy partner" routine.

[Alexander]

12. Obama doesn't even have his own DEA administrator yet.

Holder just got in, and the only people in charge of the DEA right now are holdovers from Bush.

[Romulox]

13. The DEA answers to the President. He doesn't need a DEA admin. to stop this.

"Holder just got in"

Holder (along with Joe Biden) is a long time Drug Warrior.

Holder As Attorney General Seen Likely To Escalate War On Drugs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/21/holder-as-attorney-genera_n_145484.html

[Alexander]

14. Actually Biden is against MMJ raids.

Besides, I thought you said they answered to the President, who has denounced the War on Drugs.

[Romulox]

15. Joe Biden sponsored the RAVE act and wrote the law that put Tommy Chong in prison

"Besides, I thought you said they answered to the President, who has denounced the War on Drugs."

Link? Obama came out against decriminlization during the campaign.

[Politicalboi]

16. They probably know their days are numbered

So they steal as much as they can till they can't do it anymore. I hope this changes soon.

My new signature line: Yes Weed Can

[crossroads]

17. K&R n/t

[pacalo]

19. It's the federal law that needs to be amended to allow state laws to work.

Personally, medicinal marijuana would probably be a godsend for my husband's extreme chronic back pain. He's had two back surgeries -- neither allieved the pain -- & now he's got a lot of scar tissue that makes matters worse. He's currently under the care of a pain management doctor.

If doctors can dispense narcotics lawfully, why not marijuana, as well?

(I'll bet even the lawmakers smoke it behind closed doors.)

[Zhade]

20. All I know is, Obama better keep his word.

The DEA would rather people like myself go blind from glaucoma. This isn't just a matter of wanting to enjoy a proven-beneficial herb, it's a matter of my (and many, many others') health.

[Deja Q]

21. I hope he doesn't take a whiff...

:hide:

[DeltaLitProf]

22. Notice nobody was arrested in the California raid

The DEA now knows Obama's US attorneys won't be prosecuting operators of drug dispensaries.